One Last Chance
by DreamingByDay
Summary: Zekk finally admits that he is in love with Jaina Solo and returns to Coruscant, only to discover that she is betrothed to Jagged Fel...


"So…you look good." Twenty-year-old Jacen Solo glanced nervously up at his green-eyed, dark-haired childhood friend and gave him a trademark Solo half-smile in an effort to break the tension.

Twenty-three-year-old Zekk brushed his long hair out of his face and eyed Jacen skeptically, as if unsure whether to take the younger man seriously or not. "Yeah, I guess," he said finally. "So do you."

Jacen's crystal laugh rang clearly through the newly rebuilt Coruscant spaceport. "Right," the Jedi scoffed dismissively. "I sure looked a lot better before this war."

"At least you made it out," Zekk replied. The two men fell silent, thinking of their many comrades who did not – Wurth Skidder, Ganner Rhysode, Miko Reglia, Bela and Krasov Harla, the ever-loyal Chewbacca, and the New Republic's most brilliant rising hero, Anakin Solo. Jacen's heart suddenly flared painfully, full of the sadness that had been with him ever since the loss of his beloved little brother.

Zekk winced, physically feeling the impact of Jacen's raw grief through the Force. "Sorry," he muttered, tentatively placing a strong, calloused hand on his friend's shoulder. "I didn't mean to –''

"It's alright," Jacen assured him. "I can't change the past. None of us can. All we can do is accept it, then embrace the future and make it as bright as we possibly can."

Zekk stared at Jacen. "Wow," he breathed in clear admiration. "Stang, Jacen. You've sure changed."

"Haven't we all?"

Zekk nodded his agreement. "Speaking of which, how's your sister? And _where_ is she?"

Jacen smirked knowingly. "I was wondering when we'd get around to that. I mean, I really didn't think you'd come back from the Outer Rim after all these years just to see me."

Zekk flushed slightly. "Look, Jacen, after Mrykr, Jaina and I…uh…well, I had some things I needed to work out, okay? And it took me a while to realize where I belong. But now…now I think I - ''

Zekk never finished his sentence. Jacen, his face glowing with unbridled joy, let out an exuberant cry as he sensed a _very_ familiar presence running from the nearest landing pad, down the hall, and into the waiting room that he and Zekk stood in.

The room's heavy door flew open with a loud bang, revealing a beautiful young woman standing framed in the weak, spotty light emanating from the spaceport's main docking bay. She wore a loose-fitting, strappy dress of silver-blue shimmersilk that clung to her feminine figure, and matching cerulean heals poked from below the floor-length hem of her gown. A sparkling sapphire pendant laced with diamonds and shaped in a vaguely familiar design that for some strange reason reminded Zekk of the now-defeated Yuuzhan Vong hung gleaming from her neck. Zekk reflected idly that this unknown woman would have been the image of perfection – or of one perfect night, at the very least – if only her bare shoulders and back were not glistening with a layer of sweat that wordlessly told of her recent change from a clammy flight suit into the gorgeous ensemble. Further revealing her evident haste to disembark, the woman still wore her flight helmet, which, Zekk thought regretfully, obscured what was most likely an extremely lovely face. A squadron insignia that the trash collector-turned Dark Jedi-turned bounty hunter-turned Jedi could not place covered one side of her banged-up, dirt-stained helmet, and what looked like a deep, hastily-cleaned cut snaked, still bleeding slightly, down her left shoulder.

Before Zekk could turn to Jacen to discover the identity of this strange new visitor, the girl was enthusiastically yelling "Jasa!", yanking off her flight helmet, dropping it with a loud thud on the cold spaceport floor, and sprinting across the room into Jacen's open arms. Lifting her completely off the ground (for she was much smaller than the tall, powerfully-built young Jedi), Jacen spun her around and around, over and over again, before finally setting her down gently and pulling her into a huge hug. Zekk noticed suddenly that the two were both crying openly, and the dark-haired man, feeling uncomfortable, moved further away so as not to intrude on the private moment.

Jacen, smiling so wide that his face could barely contain his Solo grin, touched the young woman's necklace. "Yun-Harla?" he asked her.

She laughed and nodded, her long, silky brown hair bouncing around her. "Yeah. Kyp had it made for me as sort of a half-joke. Though I still have to play her, you know."

Jacen nodded. "Right. All those Shamed Ones are still convinced you're a goddess, unfortunately making the rest of us Jedi divine by association, as well."

The girl rolled her eyes. "If only they knew." The two looked at each other for a while, smiling and crying silently, until finally the woman said, "Look, Jace, I gotta go. Twin Suns is having a desperately-needed tactical meeting, and then I have to finish up some reports for Wedge."

Jacen sighed reluctantly. "But I'll see you for dinner?"

"If I can sneak away from the Fels."

"Oh. Right." Jacen did not elaborate on the subject, but his silence spoke volumes.

The girl hugged Jacen again, whispering, "Don't worry about me." Then she turned smartly on her heels with the precision of a seasoned military officer and began walking away.

She only made it about two steps before both Zekk and Jacen noticed the huge bloodstain seeping through the lower back of her dress. "Wait!" the two men yelled at the same time. She whipped around, her bright eyes lighting on Zekk for the first time. Surprise flickered momentarily across her face before she glared at the young man and turned her attention back to Jacen.

"What?" she asked him.

"You're bleeding…really bad."

"Yeah, well, I'm not dead, am I?"

"No, but –''

"Look, I have a lot more important things to worry about than a little blood." Her eyes flashed fiercely in defiance.

"Please get to a med center." Jacen's voice was pleading.

"I have a squadron meeting right now," she repeated. "I already told you that. And Jag won't like it if I'm late."

Jacen shook his head. "Your Chiss boy should be taking care of you, not pushing you like this. You're injured, you're sick, and you're exhausted. I bet you haven't slept in weeks."

"The Chiss don't 'take care' of people, and you know it. Life's just business to them."

"And what about _your_ life?"

She shook her head sadly. "War's my life now, Jace. Death's my life. That's just the way it is." Turning, she slowly walked away.

"I love you," Jacen called after her retreating form. She did not respond verbally, but Zekk could feel the warmth and affection she sent to Jacen through the Force.

Zekk glanced at his friend, who was staring at the spot where the gorgeous young woman had stood only seconds before. "So..." Zekk finally remarked, "you and Tenel Ka aren't together anymore?"

Jacen gave him a strange look. "What makes you say that?"

"Isn't she your girlfriend?" Zekk jerked his head towards where the girl had been.

Jacen stared at him, confused, before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. "Zekk," he chuckled, clearly entertained, "that was Jaina."

Zekk's jaw dropped substantially. "Jaina?!"

Jacen laughed even harder. "She's all grown up, huh, Zekk?" Zekk, still gaping, nodded mutely. Jacen playfully slapped his old friend on the back. "Put your eyes back in your head before they fall out of their sockets. And get those thoughts out of your mind, at least while I'm close enough to sense them through the Force. She's my _sister_, for Sith's sake."

"She's _gorgeous_."

"She's engaged."

"What?" Zekk practically screamed at Jacen. "When? To who?"

"Jagged Fel." Jacen spat the words. "According to the official HoloNet line being used to formally announce it, 'It's a very smart match that will cement the current relationship of cooperation between the newly-formed Galactic Alliance and the Chiss Empire of the Hand, thereby eliminating any possibility of war between the two great governments in the near future'."

Zekk's face reflected his amazed fury. "It's an arranged marriage?"

"Pretty much."

Zekk opened his mouth to reply, but was too enraged and crestfallen to speak. He shook his head, silently cursing the universe. Just when he finally got up the courage to come back, ask for Jaina's forgiveness, and confess that he loved her, she gets shoved into some Sithspawned political union with a Chiss pilot. Zekk could not think, could not act, could not even summon up the will to ask Jacen the details about the wedding. All he could do was walk out of the room, out of the spaceport, and out of the respectable parts of Coruscant. He passed the rest of the day wandering the sewers where he used to roam as a child. Due to the intense Vongforming that Coruscant had recently undergone, the underbelly of the vast city-planet had greatly changed, but Zekk hardly noticed. The tears filling his eyes made seeing the changes impossible anyways.

When Zekk finally left the sewer system and made his way to the Jedi temple that, though still under construction, had replaced the one the Vong leveled on Yavin IV, night had fallen thick and black over the world. As he tentatively entered the huge structure, Zekk's initial worries that he would not be accepted here due to his past actions as Shadow Academy's Darkest Knight were replaced with a sense of complete confusion. Jedi, military officers, politicians, and what seemed like an inordinately large amount of healers swarmed through the half-built temple, yelling into commlinks and barking orders to whoever happened to be nearby.

Zekk barely had time to wonder what was going on before a battle-scarred, gray-haired man with a four-star general's stripe on his stiffly starched uniform pulled him aside and led him through the crowd to what seemed to be a small, makeshift hospital room. "She's in here," the man, whom Zekk eventually identified as the famous Wedge Antilles, informed him. "And she's been asking for you." General Antilles shoved Zekk towards the door and marched off, shouting for various emergency medical supplies as he disappeared into the throng of people bustling through the temple.

Pushing open the door, Zekk uncertainly entered the eerily-silent room to face the entire Solo and Skywalker families, along with Kyp Durron, Tahiri Veila, Raynar Thul, Lowbacca, Tenel Ka, and someone Zekk did not recognize – a stiff, grim-looking man with a white streak through his dark hair who looked remarkably like Zekk himself, save for the fact that the stranger wore his hair buzzed short while Zekk's hung long and unkempt. Everyone glanced up as Zekk walked into the room, and Jacen moved away from whatever it was they were all clustered around – it appeared to be a bed – to speak to Zekk.

"She's been asking for you," Jacen told him.

Zekk just stared at his friend in confusion. "Who?"

"Oh." Jacen suddenly seemed to understand that Zekk had no clue what was going on. Gently parting the wall of family and friends surrounding the bed, Jacen led Zekk to the front of the small crowd so that he could clearly see the pale, too-delicate-looking young woman hooked up to countless IVs and other monitors and lying unconscious beneath the blankets.

"Apparently that cut was a lot worse than she admitted," Jacen explained softly. "By the time we realized how much blood she had lost, it was too late. I found her passed out on the floor of one of the conference rooms. She was barely alive. And she was all alone."

Jacen shot a deadly glare at the stern Zekk look-alike, whom Zekk assumed was the infamous Jag Fel. _Some fiancé_, the young Jedi thought sourly. _How could he leave her by herself like that_? Zekk winced internally as he realized that he had done the exact same thing. He had left Jaina alone for almost four years, ever since that disastrous mission to Mrykr and their subsequent fight.

Jaina moaned quietly, and the room went completely still. The woman's eyes fluttered open and she stared around as if unable to determine where she was and who was with her. She murmured something, so soft that no one could hear it, then whispered it again, this time more desperately.

"Honey, what is it?" Han Solo asked, standing beside his daughter and stroking her burning forehead. "What do you want?"

"Zekk," she finally managed to say.

"Jaina!" Ignoring Han Solo's stay-away-from-my-baby glare, Zekk ran to her side and took her small, too-hot hand in both of his larger ones.

She did not acknowledge his presence, but continued muttering to herself. "Zekk, please…don't do this…You can't, Zekk…we need you…I need…I…Zekk…". Her voice faded away and she stared blankly into space before her eyes fell shut once more.

"She's been like this all night," Jacen told Zekk. "The healers have done all they can for her. She's still hanging in there, I can feel it. But it's all so uncertain still…". Zekk placed a hand on Jacen's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, and for the next few hours, the little group stood in silent vigil around Jaina, hoping against hope that their mere presences would help her to recover.

Around midnight, five-year-old Ben Skywalker, whom Zekk remembered as a mere infant, tugged on Jacen's tunic. "Master, I'm tired," he announced, yawning widely as if to reinforce his point.

Jacen smiled slightly. "Come on, Ben," he said, scooping the child up in his arms. "Let's get you to bed."

Mara Jade, Luke's wife, gazed fondly at her son and his Jedi cousin. "Is Mommy still allowed to tuck you in even though you have a Jedi Master now?" she asked the boy playfully, tousling his reddish-blonde hair. "Or are you disowning your Daddy and me?"

Luke Skywalker, Grand Master of the Jedi Order, laughed softly. "I think we can all put you to bed tonight, Ben. And then the rest of us should get some sleep, too. It's been a long day."

"This is a fact." Tenel Ka, now Queen Mother of Hapes, made a half-hearted attempt to straighten the crooked crown that elegantly rested on her scarlet-gold locks and nudged Lowbacca, who had fallen asleep on his feet. Slowly, the members of the party made their way out of the hospital room to their own separate quarters. While most of her friends and every member of Jaina's family stopped at the doorway to gaze once more at the fitfully sleeping young woman, Zekk noticed that Jag Fel hurried off to his room without so much as a backward glance at his dying fiancé.

Jacen, still carrying the now-asleep Ben in his arms, was the last to leave the room. Zekk, standing in the shadows near the door, watched Jacen reluctantly turn and slowly disappear down the long stone hall that lead to the small room where he and Ben slept. As soon as Jacen vanished from sight, Zekk quietly pushed open the door to Jaina's room. Entering silently, he perched on the side of her bed and watched her ragged breathing shake her entire fragile body. Zekk wanted to heal her, to comfort her, to put his arms around her and lie down beside her, but he knew that he could not. Instead, he reached out and lightly caressed her face with his fingertips. The young man lost all sense of time as he sat beside Jaina, sending her his strength and life energy through the Force and stroking her silky hair.

Hours later, the door banged open, startling Zekk so badly that he nearly fell off the high hospital bed. "Zekk? I thought you left when the rest of us did." Jacen Solo stood in the doorway, concern for his sister etched across his face. "Is she alright?" Jacen asked immediately, looking slightly more at ease when Zekk nodded in confirmation.

"She's actually breathing a little easier," Zekk remarked, returning his gaze to Jaina and gently running a hand down her soft cheek.

Jacen pulled a chair out from the corner of the tiny room and wearily fell into it, but his deep brown eyes, eyes that had seen so much war, hate, and destruction and consequently made him seem so much older than twenty, never left Zekk and Jaina. "You've been here all night, haven't you?" Jacen asked his friend. Zekk did not meet Jacen's gaze, but merely nodded and, taking a clean, damp washcloth from the pile on the foot of the bed, began wiping down Jaina's sweaty, feverish body.

Jacen watched Zekk work for a while before asking the question that he had pondered ever since they were all children running through the streets of Coruscant together. "You love her, don't you?" It was a question he was pretty sure he already knew the answer to.

"Of course," Zekk replied. "We've known each other forever. We're best friends. At least we used to be, before…everything. And you guys taught me long ago that being someone's friend means you care about them, watch over them, and love them, right?"

"You know that's not what I meant," Jacen replied. "You love her the way Tahiri loved Anakin…the way I love Tenel Ka."

Zekk hesitated, nodded, then scowled at Jacen. "Don't make a big deal about it, Jace. Like you said, she's engaged. To the son of a baron, no less. Me, well…I haven't seen her in how long? I'm sure she's either forgotten all about me or hates me with all her heart. Besides, as your dad so nicely reminds me every time he sees me, I'm just a lowlife, trashy, messed-up street kid who's made a bunch of really lousy decisions. If Jaina knows what's good for her, she'll never speak to me again." Zekk stared down at the ground, as if embarrassed by his tirade, before throwing down the washcloth, gently touching his lips to Jaina's feverish forehead, and leaving the room without saying anything further to Jacen.

Zekk, Jacen, and the rest of Jaina's family and friends remained by her side as she slowly recovered over the course of the next week. The day her fever finally broke and she began speaking coherent sentences, however, Zekk, who had not spoken much to any of the others during Jaina's ordeal, immediately retreated back to the quarters that Master Skywalker had assigned him. Later that night, when he went back to the hospital room to check on Jaina, he found her bed empty. Searching for her with the Force, he followed her presence outside and onto the rooftop of the temple, where she sat on the edge of the half-finished roof, wearing a clean, comfortable-looking green flight suit and wrapped in an enormous fuzzy blanket. Her booted feet dangled off the side of the temple, and she swung them back and forth aimlessly as she listened to Jagged Fel, who was sitting beside her and talking.

"Jag, I just can't do that," she finally cut in. "I'm not a diplomat or a politician. I'm a pilot. I'm a warrior."

"And what do you consider me? Look, Jaina, don't go pulling all your all-powerful Jedi and all-knowing Goddess stuff on me, okay? If we're going to get married, you have to accept that you're going to be the wife of a Chiss baron. And that means you behave like a baroness."

Zekk felt like he should leave before they realized he was eavesdropping on their argument, but he could not tear himself from the scene. Jaina stopped kicking her feet and turned to look Jag straight in the eyes. "I can do that," she said firmly. "I'm a good actress. You know that. I've been a Vong goddess for how long now? But you can't expect me to actually be happy about living the rest of my life trapped in Chiss space."

"You're my wife. And in Chiss culture, that means that you go where _I_ go, think what _I_ think, and do what _I _say you'll do."

"I'm not your wife yet," Jaina reminded him quietly. "And I sure as hell am not going to give up flying. I don't care what your stupid Chiss codes say about how female nobility should behave." Her voice took on a hard tone.

Jag stood up angrily. "This isn't getting us anywhere, Jaina," he stated firmly. "We'll talk tomorrow. Hopefully you will have come to your senses by then." The rigidly handsome Chiss pilot stalked away, leaving Jaina alone, staring out into the chilly Coruscant night and watching the city lights flicker all around her.

Zekk nervously approached and sat down beside her. She jumped and spun to get up, but he grabbed her by the wrists, harder than he had meant to, and pulled her back down again. "Shh, Jaina. It's me."

"Zekk?" In the pitch dark night, he could barely see her face, but he knew that her sparkling eyes were widening with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been here for a while," he told her. "You saw me on the landing platform, remember?"

"Oh. Right." She did not seem too enthused by the memory, but neither did she pull away from Zekk, who still held her by the wrists.

Zekk cleared his throat awkwardly, unsure of what to say next. He knew what he wanted to ask her, but how could he possibly just come out and plead that she not marry Jagged Fel? "I'm glad you're alright," he finally said. "I was…I mean, we all were…worried about you."

"Thanks." Jaina seemed just as uncomfortable with the entire situation as Zekk felt.

The two sat in silence for a while, gazing out at the twinkling lights of the skyscrapers and the glowing brilliance of nearby stars. Finally unable to stand being so close and yet so far from her, Zekk wrapped Jaina in his arms and held her close.

"Zekk!" Jaina shoved him away with more strength than he would have thought possible for someone so near death just a few days ago. "What in the name of all nine Corellian hells do you think you're doing?"

"I just…Jay, look…I…I mean, we're friends, right?" Zekk asked lamely.

"I really don't know," Jaina responded, her voice full of hurt and fury. "You leave me for four years and then come back and expect everything to be the same? That's not much of a friendship, if you ask me. But then again, I suppose that's the most I should have ever expected from you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zekk's voice rose in anger.

"It means that I'm not just going to let you pretend like nothing's happened, like we haven't changed. Because we're not children anymore. And we're both a lot different now."

Zekk felt his temper rising even more. "I'm the same as always," he retorted, "though I can't say the same about you. Being the daughter of a princess just wasn't good enough for you, was it? And you'd think you would have settled with being a goddess, but no…now you have to be a baroness too."

"I…what?" Jaina stopped, shocked, in mid-sentence. "You think I'm marrying him for some stupid title? Come off it, Zekk. You know me better than that."

"I _used _to know you better than that," Zekk corrected. "But apparently the Jaina I knew, the girl who ran through sewers, tore up her fancy clothes, and ruined diplomatic dinners, disappeared sometime during the Vong war and got replaced by a scheming, power-hungry, cold-hearted woman intent on doing whatever it takes to get to the top."

Jaina glared at her childhood friend. "You think this is all a power play? Well, you're wrong, Zekk."

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," he retorted sarcastically. "It's really all about true, everlasting love, isn't it?"

"Like you'd know," Jaina shot back. "You have no idea what the word 'love' even means."

"Is that what you think? That I don't know anything about love? I'm more experienced than you are. You're just a twenty -year-old kid pretending to be all grown up."

"Look, Zekk, sleeping with people is not the same as actually loving them."

"Right. And Jag really loves you. The whole part about how him sleeping with the Galactic Alliance's little hero-girl Jaina Solo, the daughter of Rebellion heroes and niece of the Grand Jedi Master, will give him and all his Chiss friends more power and political leverage than they could ever hope for otherwise doesn't factor into his decision to marry you at all."

Jaina winced. The remark struck terribly close to home. "At least Jag didn't leave me right after Anakin died just because he was afraid of the dark side," the Jedi woman snapped.

"Shut up, Jaina. Just shut up." Zekk, suddenly seized with an insane desire to push Jaina right off the top of the temple and listen to her scream as she fell all the way down and landed in a broken heap on the ground, pounded the stone of the roof with his fists in a vain attempt to release some of his fury.

"No," Jaina declared, her head tilted up in that defiant posture that Zekk found so incredibly attractive. "Don't tell me what to do. I'm sick and tired of everyone trying to control my life. And you of all people have no right to even ask the smallest favor of me. After all you've done, after the way you've treated me, you're lucky I'm bothering to speak to you at all. Most people would give up on someone after he tries to murder them, then supposedly repents only to leave a few days later without ever contacting –''

Smack! Jaina instantly fell silent as Zekk, no longer able to contain his anger and self-hatred, hit her square across the face. For one long, horrible moment, Jaina just looked at him, stunned, as blood trickled from her mouth and ran down her chin. Even in the darkness, Zekk could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Jaina –'' he began, reaching out to her, but she shrunk back from his hand. Standing up and clutching her blanket around her, she wordlessly turned and rushed away from him, leaving the remorseful Jedi sitting alone on the top of the temple with only his regretful thoughts and dark memories for company.

Jaina wandered into the mess hall late the next morning, her hair rumpled and her eyes red. Passing up the food, she made herself a cup of packaged hot chocolate and quietly joined her family and friends, who were already eating at a table near the back of the large cafeteria. Zekk, sitting next to Jacen, glanced quickly at his former best friend, then just as quickly lowered his head and stared intently into his bowl of oatmeal, wishing with all his heart that he could make the huge welt on her face and the cut on her lower lip disappear.

"Hi, sleepyhead," Jacen teased as Jaina sat down across from him.

"Hey." Her unusually soft voice was barely audible above the din of a hundred Jedi and even more workers loudly dining, shouting, talking, and laughing with each other.

"Sweetheart, I have to do some maintenance on the _Falcon _today, and I was wondering if you'd – '' Han Solo's voice trailed off as he took in the sight of his daughter's face. "Jaina? What the hell happened to you?"

"What?" Jaina's feigned surprise fooled no one. "Oh. My face? Well, I was out with Zekk last night, and –''

Zekk's heart jumped into his throat. If she told them what he had done, if her family found out how badly he had hurt her, he would lose everything that made his life worth living. He would lose his position as a Jedi, he would lose the few friends he had, he would lose any last semblance of dignity and honor. And he would lose _her_. But then again, he admitted to himself, he deserved nothing less. After the way he had treated Jaina, even death would not be a punishment too harsh.

"What were you doing with Zekk?" Jag Fel interrupted, shooting a glance full of hate and what seemed to be jealousy in Zekk's direction.

"I…we were on a walk," Jaina told him, bravely staring him right in the eyes as she lied to his face. "We were just talking and catching up…we haven't seen each other in forever, you know, and it was really dark, since a lot of the lights haven't been working since the Vong occupation and everything, and…well, to make a long story short, I performed an amazingly graceful Jaina stunt and walked right into a huge tree branch." She chuckled at the fictitious memory.

_Jaina's a great actress,_ Zekk thought to himself, breathing a silent sigh of relief that Jaina had not told the truth; that instead, she had protected him. Protected him. Why? He definitely did not deserve it, not after what he had done. Could she possibly still care about him after last night? _Has she ever cared about you?_ an insidious voice inside his head whispered. _Not in the same way you care about her, at least,_ the voice answered itself. _To her, you've always just been a funny, adventurous, trouble-making, best friend. An older brother, maybe. Not a crush. Not boyfriend material. And **definitely** not a lover._

"Sith, Jay. You sure you're okay?" Jacen gave his sister a concerned look.

"Yeah, of course. It was just one of those stupid things. You know."

Han rolled his eyes. "All too well. I still remember the time you two were climbing the Massassi trees – ''

"Instead of going to class," Jacen added.

"Fact." Tenel Ka's face lit up at the humorous memory.

"And then she was swinging on one of the top branches and fell off and broke both her legs," Kyp Durron finished the story. "Even I heard about that one, Jaina, and I think I was halfway across the galaxy chasing smugglers at the time."

"You're lucky you didn't break your neck," Leia Organa Solo chuckled. "How come you always seem to get hurt whenever you're with Zekk?"

"I think it's more that she gets hurt _by_ Zekk," Jag Fel muttered under his breath so that only Zekk could hear. Murderous desires shone in the dark-haired Jedi's green eyes as he glared hatefully at the arrogant Chiss pilot.

Jaina, the only one to notice the uncomfortable exchange, set her nearly-full mug down on the table and stood up. "I've gotta go write some reports," she informed her parents. "See you guys around," she muttered to her friends as she hurried out of the mess hall, carefully keeping her head down so that none of the nearby diners would notice her injury.

For the next week, Jaina did not even look at, much less speak to, Zekk. Whenever he asked about her, Jacen always told him that she was busy – busy training her squadron, busy playing the role of a goddess, busy planning her new life with Jagged Fel. One night, when Jaina was once again noticeably absent from dinner, Zekk casually leaned across the table, tapped Jacen on the shoulder, and mouthed, "Where's Jaina?"

Jacen shrugged. "Packing, I'd assume. Her and Captain Cardboard are leaving tomorrow night after the goodbye party."

"What?" Zekk unsuccessfully tried to keep the utter dismay off his face. Was she planning to leave without even saying goodbye, without even letting him apologize? Angrily shoving his chair away from the table, Zekk let his knife and fork clatter onto his plate as he stormed off.

"What's wrong with him?" Kyp asked as the entire group looked up, startled, and watched Zekk hurry out of the room. Jacen just shook his head.

Sometime after midnight, as he pushed the door of his room open and silently slipped out into the cool stone hall, Jacen Solo crashed right into Zekk. Both men fell onto the ground and stood up slowly, rubbing their bruised limbs and trying to figure out exactly what had just happened.

"Sorry, Jacen," Zekk managed to say as he hastily hid his hands – and whatever was in them – in the deep pockets of his Jedi cloak.

"No problem," Jacen answered, still somewhat discomfited. "But what in the name of the Force are you doing up at this hour anyways?"

"I could ask you the same thi –'' Zekk began, but when he noticed the tall, slim figure of Tenel Ka emerge from her own room a few doors down, he did not feel the need to finish the sentence. "Oh. Got it. Sorry, guys. Have a good night." Quickly hurrying further down the hall, Zekk heard Tenel Ka giggling softly as she and Jacen, their arms around each other, walked out into the starry night, laughing and whispering together.

Zekk passed Jacen and Ben's quarters and quietly pushed open the door to the next room. The small living space was dark, and clothes, books, datapads, and empty bottles that smelled strongly of Corellian ale lay strewn haphazardly all over the floor. In one corner, a small form huddled beneath the sheets of the bed. Carefully stepping over the clutter on the carpet, Zekk tiptoed over to where Jaina slept. Her hands were clutching the top of her sheets as if she was desperately trying to hold on to something, and her tear-stained cheeks showed that she had clearly cried herself to sleep. Zekk had a feeling that this was not the only time she had done so in the past few weeks.

He gently eased himself onto the bed beside Jaina. With her hair spread out around her like an auburn halo and her delicate mouth turned downward in the saddest expression Zekk had ever seen, she looked like a tragic heroine…an angel unfairly destined to suffer on behalf of unappreciative others…a goddess who willingly took on the pain of the universe, sacrificing her own personal joy for the good of the galaxy. Zekk self-consciously wiped a tear from his cheek before drawing the gift he had brought for Jaina – a single, long-stemmed white rose with a simple note, on which the word "Sorry" was scrawled, tied to it – from his pocket. Placing the flower on her chest, Zekk kissed his fingers, then lightly touched them to her pouting lips before standing up and, after once more gazing longingly at the sleeping figure of the only woman he had ever loved, leaving her room, hoping against hope that he was not leaving her forever.

Forever. The word was more than he could bear. Suddenly, a fierce determination stronger than anything he had ever before felt seized him, and he quickened his pace, intent to finally do what he should have done years ago, to finally tell her what he had wanted to say ever since he first saw her. A plan formulated itself almost instantaneously, and his stomach jumped with nervousness as his mind realized just what his heart wanted to do. What his heart was _going _to do. _Wait for me, Jay_, he thought as he shut her door and raced towards the landing pad where the _Lightning Rod_,his small, banged-up ship, was docked. _Please wait for me._

Jacen did not see Zekk at all the next day, and only saw his sister once, when he purposely sought her out to speak with her. She was carelessly shoving clothes into a suitcase and periodically throwing her belongings, preferably breakable ones that made loud noises, Jacen noted, against the wall, the bed, the floor, and anything else that happened to be nearby. "Jaina, we need to talk," Jacen began, covering his head for fear that he rather than an inanimate object would be the next recipient of her wrath.

"I don't want to talk," Jaina spat. "Just go away."

"Jaya, please," Jacen attempted again. "Zekk's really – ''

"Don't talk to me about Zekk," she hissed furiously. "Ever again." Throwing down the suitcase, she brushed past Jacen and left the room, leaving her twin staring after her, a look of sorrow and pity etched on his face.

Night slowly fell over the formerly planet-wide but currently under construction city of Coruscant. The stars, more visible now than they had ever been before the Vongforming, glittered above the planet's newly acquired double rainbows as if promising a well-deserved peace after so many long years of war, loss, and unspeakable horror. Jacen Solo stood on a fourth-floor balcony of the Jedi Temple, gazing at the sky and at the same time watching hundreds of guests stream in and out of the temple to wish his sister luck and say their final goodbyes before she departed forever to Chiss space. _Of course_, Jacen thought wryly, _the whole going-away party probably would work better if the person going away was actually present_. No one had seen his sister since he last talked to her nearly six hours ago; the last message he had received from her was a strange, convoluted goodbye letter that sounded more like she was dying than that she was getting married and moving in with her husband. _Like she was dying_. The phrase reverberated through Jacen's terrified brain before finally clicking. _Sithspawn_, he mentally swore, tearing down the stairs at top speed.

And colliding once more into Zekk, who looked as flushed and breathless as Jacen currently was. "Zekk," Jacen panted, "thank the Force. I thought you'd left."

"What? Why?" Zekk asked, again fiddling with something deep inside his cloak pocket.

"The _Lightning Rod _was gone this morning, so I just assumed…"

"That I was just leaving her again? Yeah, you and everyone else probably would think that. Well, you know what, I –''

Jacen grabbed Zekk by the shoulders and cut him off. "Shut it, Zekk. I don't care. All I'm concerned with right now is Jaina." The look on the Solo twin's face told Zekk that Jacen's sister was in serious, immediate danger.

"What's wrong? Where is she?"

"That's just it…I…I don't know. She left me a note…a goodbye note. That says things like 'it's not your fault' and 'don't blame yourself, I need to do this'."

Zekk's face went pale. "Damn it," he cursed vehemently. "Can you sense her through the Force?"

"She's still alive, if that's what you mean. But she's…her Force signal feels strange, almost alien. Almost…not there at all. And I can't figure out where she is. " Jacen took a crumpled, tear-stained piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it, and began to read. "_I'm going back one more time to the place where I once felt safe, happy, and loved. I wish I could go back to that moment, too, but I've given up on foolish hopes and dreams. Don't try to find me, Jace. I don't want you to see me like this. I just want to be alone. I just want it all to end. Forever._"

Zekk tore the letter from the surprised Jacen's grasp and practically flew down the corridor towards the front door. "I should have known," he managed to gasp as he ran.

"You know where she is?" asked Jacen, following on Zekk's heels.

"Yeah." Zekk offered no further explanation, but instead proceeded to use the Force to move the party guests out of the way as effortlessly as if he were parting water. Banging the huge front door open with a very un-subtle Force push, Zekk dashed outside, putting up one arm to keep Jacen from following him. "I need to do this alone, Jacen," he told his friend. "Besides, she specifically _told_ you not to come after her, but she had no rules about me."

"That's only 'cuz she thinks you hate her," Jacen reasoned.

Zekk spun around, his face a mask of determined fury. "Do you want to stand here and argue while she dies, or are you going to let me go save your sister's life?"

Jacen relented, much to Zekk's relief. "You _better_ save her," he commanded fiercely as Zekk raced off into the darkness surrounding the temple. "Bring her back, Zekk," he added to himself in a soft voice. "Bring her back."

Fifteen minutes later, Zekk, breathing heavily as sweat streamed from his shoulder-length hair, finally made it to the place where he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would find Jaina – Dhalbreth Square. _Their _Dhalbreth Square. Sure enough, on the side of the fountain, her slight form glowing in the light of the thousands of glowfish swimming in the deep pool behind her, sat Jaina Solo. As Zekk drew closer to her, he saw that she was dressed in a pitch black, tight-fitting evening gown with a floor-length, tapered skirt of sheer black lace and a stylish belt of glittering black Corusca gems that perfectly highlighted her tiny waist. A matching Corusca necklace hung from her slender neck, and similar gems shone in her hair, which was tied up in a complicated style that Zekk automatically assumed had originated on Alderaan. The young Jedi noted curiously that, despite her formal attire, Jaina wore an old, torn pair of flight boots beneath her elaborate dress, and her first, highly battered Rogue Squadron flight helmet rested beside her feet. The young woman did not seem to notice Zekk's arrival; indeed, her entire body was turned away from him, and she was gazing into the fountain, slowly trailing through the water a plant that Zekk suddenly recognized as the rose he had given her.

"Jaina," Zekk murmured quietly, tentatively approaching her. "Jaina."

"Hello, Zekk." Her voice, unnaturally calm and composed, rang in a monotonous, nearly trancelike tone. At that moment, Zekk noticed Jaina's lightsaber resting on her lap. His heart gave a leap of fear, and he took another step towards her.

"Don't come any closer, Zekk," Jaina ordered in that same eerily serene voice, a voice that sent chills down Zekk's spine. Dropping the flower in the water, Jaina picked up her lightsaber, caressing the hilt lovingly before looking directly into Zekk's eyes. "Don't come any closer."

"Jaya," he began, using her childhood nickname in an effort to somehow reach her. "I don't understand what –''

"Take care of Jacen," she commanded, cutting him off. "Make sure he knows this isn't his fault. Don't let him blame himself. And don't blame yourself, either. I should have realized long ago how you truly felt about me instead of letting myself get caught up in this romantic, idealistic fantasy." Bringing her lightsaber up in front of her face, Jaina ignited the violet-silver blade with a _snap-hiss_. "Stand back, Zekk," she told the young man. "I don't want to get blood on you."

With that, she moved the lightsaber to her throat in one swift motion, and for a split-second, it seemed to Zekk that time had stopped entirely. Entranced by the surreal scene, completely overwhelmed by the tragic beauty of Jaina Solo, dressed like the Jedi warrior princess – no, Jedi warrior _goddess_ – that Zekk had always known she was, sitting beside the fountain, backlit by the golden glow of the fish and bathed in her lightsaber's amethyst flame, Zekk could do nothing but look on and imagine their short but heartbreakingly romantic impending future together. She would slit her throat and slowly fall, but he would catch her before her body hit the ground, and she would die in his arms...

"Goodbye, Zekk." Jaina's hauntingly melodic voice broke the spell and jarred Zekk back to reality. Acting purely on instinct and adrenaline, Zekk sprang forward as Jaina thrust the blade backwards towards her throat, and the young man managed to pull the lightsaber out of her hand while simultaneously calling on the Force to shove Jaina away from the dangerous weapon. Flying backwards, Jaina smacked her head on the marble fountain and fell into the dark pool, where she floated facedown and motionless. Before she could sink completely under the now-churning water, Zekk reached in and grabbed her by one wrist.

Slowly pulling her unconscious body out of the cold water, Zekk realized with horror that not only did she have a huge gash on the back of her head where she had hit it against the fountain, but also that she was not breathing at all. As he attempted to wipe the freely flowing blood off her neck, the words of Jaina's family and friends played through his mind as though they were a comm message stuck in Replay mode. _"How come you always seem to get hurt whenever you're with Zekk?" "I think it's more that she gets hurt **by** Zekk."_ The young Jedi's face hardened in unrelenting determination. He would not let her get hurt this time. He would _not_. And he would not hurt her. Not now, and not ever again. Not anymore. Pulling Jaina's head onto his lap, Zekk bent his face down close to hers and began performing CPR.

After a few harrowing minutes, during which cold fear seized Zekk as he faced the very real possibility of confronting Jaina's death and the consequent meaninglessness of his own life without her, Jaina's eyes fluttered open. And in that instant, that moment when Jaina was breathing once more but not yet aware of anything going on around her, Zekk lost all sense of time, of place, of everything except for him and Jaina. Reflected in her deep brown eyes, two visions of the future suddenly appeared before Zekk. He had never been prone to Force visions, indeed, he rarely even dreamed (and when he did, his dreams tended to consist of very romantic, very seductive, and _very_ private encounters between himself and Jaina), yet he knew instantaneously that the images swimming in front of his wide emerald eyes came directly from the Force itself.

_Jaina sat beside Jagged Fel at a long banquet table in an ornate palace. Outside, snow fell, covering the ground in a blanket of white crystals, but the ballroom was full of fireplaces, and no one inside appeared to be the least bit cold. Or hungry. Thousands of foods that Zekk did not even know the names of covered the silken tablecloth, and the hundreds of guests eating, talking politely, and listening to the slow music of the harpist in the corner all appeared to be extremely rich, extremely important, or both. Jag was talking earnestly to a blue Chiss gentleman sitting on his other side, and Jaina leaned over to join the conversation, but Jag brushed her aside, glancing at her momentarily and shaking his head in warning before returning his full attention to the gentleman. After a few more minutes of being ignored, Jaina excused herself with all the poise and propriety of a born noblewoman and left the huge ballroom, sadly staring at the happily dancing couples all around her before returning to her own huge bedroom, flopping down onto the fluffy comforter that covered the bed, and sobbing herself to sleep…_

_Jaina, looking extremely pale and much thinner than she had in the vision with Jag, was sitting alone on a curb in a very dirty sector of a planet that Zekk did not recognize_._ Rain poured down, and she attempted to huddle up, grabbing her knees and shivering inside her dirty, torn Jedi robes. Water dripped from her long hair and droplets of rain sparkled on her eyelashes. A tall, dark-haired man appeared down the street, and Jaina's eyes lit up as he raced towards her, not even getting the chance to sit down before she threw herself on him and knocked him over. For a long time the two lay there, cuddling and laughing on the hard duracrete pavement as the rain beat down on them. Finally, the pair sat up and the man pulled Jaina inside his cloak to keep her warm. Pulling a ration bar from his tattered pocket, he unwrapped it, broke it in half, and gave the larger portion to the young woman beside him. Jaina used the Force to yank the smaller half out of his hand and take it for herself as she tenderly pressed the bigger piece into his palm. He shook his head and held it out to her again, but she ignored him and, grabbing the collar of his Jedi robes, dragged him close and pressed her lips to his…_

_Jaina, much healthier than she had appeared in the previous vision, stood facing Jag in their fancy bedroom, hurt and fury radiating from her brilliant eyes. "You **what**?" she spat at him. "How can you even try to tell me something like that?". _

"_I just did," Jag informed her coldly. "I don't want my children – my heirs – to be Jedi freaks." _

"_So you'll have them with someone else?" she managed to choke out, trying without much success to keep the tears from her eyes._

_Jag nodded curtly. "Yes, I will. With a Chiss woman. Someone who's actually worth carrying on my bloodline." It was fortunate for Jag that he stormed off at that moment, slamming the door behind him, because Jaina looked ready to kill him…_

_Jaina lay in a much smaller, much less comfortable-looking bed that seemed strangely familiar. Her family, as well as Tenel Ka, Tahiri, and Lowie, stood around her, smiling with unfettered joy, though their smiles were nothing compared to the radiant expression that graced Jaina's beautiful face. The tall man hurried in from an adjoining room, carrying a well-worn blanket in his arms. Spreading the blanket over Jaina and carefully tucking it around her, he plopped down onto the bed beside her and took her in his arms, stroking her forehead and passionately kissing her. "Congratulations, Goddess," he whispered as her father placed a tiny bundle in Jaina's arms and her mother carefully handed a second one to the Jedi man. For a long time, the thrilled couple just sat there, gazing at their newborn children and surrounded by the love of their family and friends…_

"Sith," Zekk breathed to himself as the vision finally let him go and he once more realized where he was and what had been happening. More importantly, however, he realized who the second man, the man who had made Jaina so unbelievably happy even though he was clearly dirt poor and could not give her any of the comforts that Jag could provide, was, and his heart skipped a beat. Was he really meant for her? Did she truly love him the way he loved her? A startled gasp jolted him from his musings, and he looked down to discover that Jaina had at last regained consciousness.

Jaina awoke with Zekk's mouth on hers, and it took her a moment to realize that he was breathing for her and not kissing her. Instantly she pushed him off her and moved away from him, fighting her sudden desire to instead grab him and pull him closer into a real kiss. Scared and shivering from her unplanned swim in the fountain, she stared up at Zekk, remembering all that had happened in the last few minutes. Remembering what she had been about to do. She noticed that Zekk had attached her lightsaber to his belt beside his own, and as the many emotions of that moment when she had been about to kill herself flooded through her once more, she started to shake uncontrollably.

"Why did you do it, Zekk?" she demanded angrily. "Why did you save me?"

Zekk moved to sit beside her, then took her in his arms and drew her into his cloak to warm her up. The next thing he knew, he had pulled her completely onto his lap. Her body, pressed against his own, felt almost deathly cold, so he began to rub her bare arms in an attempt to start her blood circulating again. "Jaina, don't be ridiculous. Did you really think I would let you die?"

She stared straight into his green eyes. "This coming from the guy who has not only beat me up but also tried to murder me."

Zekk's face fell, but he did not give up. "Please, Jaina," he practically begged her, "I'm so sorry. You don't know how much I regret Shadow Academy. Every day, every moment, I wish I could just go back and do it over again, do it right. But I can't. The only thing I can do is tell you that I'm sorry, and pray that you believe me."

Through the Force, Jaina sensed his earnest honesty tinged with desperation. "I _do _believe you," she told him. "I've always believed you, and I've hated myself for it...for not moving on. I…I guess I just don't really understand why you…" She did not finish her sentence, and Zekk realized that she was no longer meeting his gaze, but instead rubbing the side of her face where he had hit her a week ago. "Maybe you're right," she finished weakly. "Maybe I'm not good enough to be your friend."

Not good enough? What the hell was she talking about? He was the one who wasn't good enough for her, Zekk reflected, wincing as she touched her cheek and forced him to recall how badly he had injured her just a few days ago. Why did he hurt most the only person he had ever loved? Zekk drew Jaina's chin up gently so that she was looking at him again. "Jaina," he told her in a very matter-of-fact tone, "that's just it. I don't _want _to be your friend anymore. I'm sick of it."

His heart melted as she pushed him away, stood up, and turned her back on him before he could see the tears start to fall. "I should have known," she sobbed. "You're never here for me when I really need you…I don't see why you even bother coming back…unless you just love tormenting me like this."

Zekk did not know how to respond. That was not what he had meant to say at all. He had been trying to tell her something else altogether. Suddenly, realizing that he could never explain how he felt in words, he got to his feet, grabbed Jaina, spun her around, and kissed her passionately. She froze, and he felt her body tense as he pulled her closer to him, but he did not let her go. He could not. This was his last chance, and he knew it. Gently, lovingly, he slid his hands up her back and caressed her neck, then reached up and unpinned her hair so that it fell down around her face. Running his fingers through the silky brown-gold waves, he continued to kiss her as she trembled at his touch, clearly terrified.

_Sithspawn, _Zekk thought to himself with horror_. She's afraid of me_. He stopped kissing her but continued to hold her close, fearing that if he let her out of his grasp, she would somehow disappear right there and he would never see her again. "Jay," he whispered softly into her ear. "Don't be scared. I won't hurt you, I promise. I won't hurt you ever again."

To Jaina's complete bewilderment, she realized that Zekk was crying openly. She had never seen him cry before. "Zekk," she tried to say, but he put a finger to her lips, and she fell silent.

"I'm sorry," he continued, tears running down his dirt-streaked face. "I'm sorry for everything – Shadow Academy…not being here for you…leaving you when Anakin died…being a stupid idiot who smoked death sticks, drank, and slept around while I pretended my life wasn't a pathetic mess…all the times I hit you…and hurt you. I promise…no, I _swear_, Jaina…all I want to do is protect you, and take care of you. I'll never, ever, _ever _hurt you again. Not anymore." He pulled her closer, stroking her soft hair and lightly kissing her cheek. "Sweet, beautiful, wonderful Jaya," he murmured, "I've known since the moment I met you, down in the sewers of Coruscant, that you were the only woman I would ever love. I want to love you, Jay. I want you to teach me how to love you the way you deserve to be loved."

"Zekk," Jaina managed to say, her voice low and hesitant. "Zekk, please. Don't do this to me."

"Don't do what?"

"I…I…you're making me…I'm…I'm not in control anymore, Zekk. I feel like I'm not in control."

"Do you always have to be in control?" he asked her. "Let go, Jay. Don't worry, don't plan, don't think. Just live."

_Let go._ The words resonated deep within her soul, and, finally pushing aside all thoughts of Jagged Fel and her duty to the galaxy, she gave in to her feelings, grabbing Zekk and kissing him so hard that he nearly fell over. As her hungry lips met his, Zekk reflected that she certainly had not kissed like this when he first met her. Then again, she had only been a child then, and until he had kissed her that night when they went swimming in the fountain that they now stood beside, she had never even been kissed before.

_I gave her her first kiss_, Zekk realized, surprised how wonderful that thought made him feel. Taking her in his arms, he returned her affection with his own, his joy at her response filling his heart to the bursting point.

But his joy was short-lived. Furious at herself for surrendering in to her desires when she was supposed to be marrying Jagged Fel in just a few days, Jaina angrily shoved Zekk away. "I don't get it," she nearly shouted at him. "I just don't get it."

"Don't get what?" Zekk replied, confused. Why were women always so complicated?

"Why are you kissing me like this?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No, Zekk, it's not. You say you don't want to be my friend anymore, and then you go and do something like that. It makes no sense at all."

Zekk took Jaina's hands in his. "Jaina," he began, wishing that he had the clarity of mind right now to use a Jedi calming technique to quiet his nerves. He felt as though he was about to vomit. What if she said no? But he had to ask. He had to know. "I can't give you anything, Jaina, not like Jag can. All I can give you is myself, my love, and my life. But I want to give that to you, Jaya. I want you to let me love you."

To Jaina's disbelief, Zekk, still holding her hands in his own, dropped onto one knee. "I _don't_ want to be your friend anymore, Jaina Solo," he murmured softly. "I want to be your husband. Marry me, Jay," he finished, taking a ring from his pocket and holding it out to her. "Please, marry me."

Jaina's mouth hung open in surprise as she stared at the young man kneeling before her. "Zekk," she finally managed to say, "where did you get that?" The ring in his hand was the most beautiful piece of jewelry Jaina had ever seen. Composed of glittering diamonds and deep, so-blue-they-almost-looked-black Alderaanian sapphires that Jaina knew were extremely rare and _extremely_ expensive ever since the destruction of her mother's home planet, the gorgeous ring was shaped to look exactly like a sparkling, luminous version of the balsa wood necklace that Jaina's grandfather Anakin Skywalker had carved for his future wife Padmé Amidala so many years ago. How had Zekk even known about that necklace? "Where did you get it?" she repeated.

"I didn't steal it, if that's what you mean." The hurt in Zekk's voice was unmistakable. "I made it, okay?"

"You…you _made_ it?" Jaina was clearly impressed. "The whole thing?"

"Well," Zekk admitted, "I had to buy the jewels, of course."

"Zekk, just tell me where you got the money," Jaina pressed. "No more lies, alright?"

Zekk did not answer right away, but fidgeted uncomfortably and glanced away from her. "I…I sold the _Lightning Rod_," he finally muttered in a voice so low she almost could not hear him.

"You _what_?!" That ship had been Zekk's pride and joy ever since old Peckhum gave her to him after the Shadow Academy ordeal. Jaina could not believe Zekk would have ever sold his ship for anything, especially not for her. It was like her father selling the _Millennium Falcon_ – entirely unfathomable.

"It doesn't matter, Jaya," Zekk insisted. "I don't care. I love you more than any stupid ship." She continued to gape at him, so he squeezed her hand tight. "Do you hear me, Jaina? I love you."

"I love you too, Zekk," she finally murmured, tears streaming down her face. "I love you so much."

"You still haven't answered my question," Zekk reminded her, holding the dazzling ring out.

Smiling through her tears, Jaina took off the bulky Chiss engagement ring that Jag had given her and held it in front of her face as though she were examining it. The she turned slightly and threw it as far away as she could. Zekk watched with great satisfaction as it hit the ground with a clink and rolled down a drainage sewer. Giving her hand back to Zekk, Jaina allowed him to slide the ring, which fit perfectly, onto her finger. "Yes," she told him. "Yes, Zekk. I'll marry you." Grabbing his other hand, she pulled him to his feet and hugged him tightly. "I thought you'd never ask. I thought you hated me. I thought –''

"Jay, I'm so sorry," Zekk interrupted her. "I've always loved you, honest. I just had no clue how to show it. But tell me what to do to prove it to you. I'll do anything for you, I promise. I want you to believe me, I _need_ you to believe me. I'm so incredibly sorry for everything, and I swear, I'll –''

Jaina chuckled at his rambling apology. "Zekk," she cut him off, drawing him closer and holding him in her arms.  
"What?"

"Shut up and kiss me."

Zekk smiled. "I think I can manage that." As he lowered his head, she slid her arms around his neck, and their lips met in an intense testament of passion, desire, and undying love.

Dawn was breaking gently over the city-planet when the newly-engaged couple finally walked, arm in arm, back to the Jedi Temple. To Jaina, the twin rainbows above shone brighter than ever before, and even the dust clouds created by the numerous construction sites surrounding the street seemed to glimmer with light, hope, and a million promises of a beautiful future. Zekk slid his fingers through hers, and Jaina affectionately squeezed the hand of the man who had saved her life, her heart, and her soul.

Zekk never took his eyes off Jaina as the two returned to the temple. She was wrapped in Zekk's cloak, which was way too big for her, and beneath it, her clothes, still damp, clung to her tiny figure in an absurdly gorgeous way. Her hair streamed around her face, blowing in the slight breeze and tickling his cheek, and her new engagement ring gleamed on her finger, reflecting the light of the twin rainbows and creating small rainbows of its own that lit Jaina's face with a divine glow. "You're so beautiful, Jay," he told her. "Have I ever told you that?"

"Only about fifty times in the last twenty-five seconds," Jaina replied. "Not that I mind too much."

They rounded a bend in the road and the Jedi Temple, enormous despite its unfinished state, suddenly loomed before them. Jaina stopped in her tracks. "Jaya?" Zekk asked her, concern in his voice. After everything they had been through, was she having second thoughts now? "What is it? What's wrong?"

Jaina shook her head as though to clear it, then allowed Zekk to continue leading her towards the huge building. "I was just thinking…" she began.

"Dangerous," Zekk commented.

She playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Thanks a lot. No, but seriously. I _was _thinking…How are we going to tell my parents about this?"

It was now Zekk's turn to stop walking. He froze and stared at her, realizing what she was saying. He had no clue if her parents even trusted him to feed one of Jacen's many pets, much less to marry their only daughter. "Oh, Sith," he muttered. "I forgot about that part. Your dad's gonna kill me."

Jaina laughed and tugged Zekk along towards the temple. "No, he'll probably pay you for getting me away from Jag. Though I'm sure once the rest of the galaxy finds out about my decision, the Chiss will declare war." Jaina chuckled. "So you've not only made me insanely happy, but you've kept me and the rest of my squadron employed, too."

"Jay," Zekk broke in, still uncertain despite her reassurances. "I don't want to start a war. And what if your family thinks I'm just using you? What will all your friends think? What are those kriffing tabloid writers going to say when they hear the news?"

"I could care less," Jaina responded. "And my family knows I've always loved you, even if I haven't admitted it to myself."

"Really?" Zekk asked, amazed at this new revelation.

"Really. Just ask Jacen. Now come on, loverboy. We've got a wedding to plan."

"I think that can wait a few more minutes," Zekk told her, pulling her close. Time stopped as they kissed once more in the sparkling sunlight of dawn, and for one beautiful, eternal instant, they were the only two people in the entire universe.


End file.
